Lahav Hatzui

Photojournalist Faye Dunaway arrives in Israel, thinking she knows what the political situation is all about.

Miss Dunaway is one of the treasures of the movies. Although her peak years where in the late 1960s and 1970s, when her iceberg blonde look and ability to play opaque characters who let their thoughts seep through had her on Hollywood's A -- i.e., blonde hotties -- she has continued to give fine performances in tough movies ever since.

There's a lot in this movie that's troubling for anyone who has an opinion on the Middle East, and I think that confusion -- captured in the video cover, which has a terrified Miss Dunaway pointing a gun at the view -- won't change any opinion. It's another terrific performance, though.

This amazing film has the very convincing character of a documentary. Faye "Milano" Dunaway is a reporter for the New York Herald sent to Israel to get some first page stories and makes the shocking experience that the stories she stumbles into can't be written down, published or even defined, the social psychology of the constant conflict being so undefinably complicated. If the ambition of the film was to get as near to a documentary as possible, it has succeeded, as it is the best possible and most convincing effort I have seen to pinpoint something of the overwhelming political, ethnical and human complexity of the Israel-Palestine problem. It is a constant war that has been going on since the partition in 1948 and gradually developed into something of a continuous nightmare of imminent danger and threats to your life wherever you go and whatever you do in Israel, and the moment you relax and allow yourself a moment off guard, something might explode and erupt in massacre and bloodshed, mainly victimising innocents. The whole history of modern Israel is nothing but a story of survival, which this film make shockingly clear. There is no tourism here, no sacred pilgrimage, no religion, not even any culture or traditions, but just plain journalistic facts revealing the whole stage of the Israeli drama of reality. Especially valuable condoning this character is the presence of Rabbi Meir Kahane, speaking his mind openly in the film, who shortly afterwards was assassinated by Palestinians (1990; the film was released in 1992).

Double Edge is a view of life in the fast lane of Israel. Faye Dunaway arrives in Israel for a 3-week assignment as a photojournalist. She is sure that the Jews are the oppressors, while the Arabs are the victims.

The movie has the confusing feel of Israel. Arabs can be polite one moment, but blood-thirsty the next. It brought back vivid scenes from when I was there for a vacation. It was a particularly rough month when I visited there.

This is a 2-star movie with a 4-star subject. Everyone should watch this at least once in their life. People in the West cannot fathom what it is like in Israel. Enjoy it.

I think the fact that this movie embodies the feel of Israel in so many ways is what makes it a great movie. Faye Dunaway's character (Faye Milano) comes to Israel with preconceived notions about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and sees the situation as many people who live outside Israel do--as 'poor Palestinians living under an Israeli occupation'; her time in Israel, however, proves otherwise. She realizes that the situation is so much more complicated then she had believed, and she witnesses firsthand the violence of the Palestinian people, even violence perpetrated by children. However, the movie also shows the human side of the Palestinians & their yearning for recognition. Faye Milano's preconceived views change drastically as she realizes the clear truth of it all--Israel is simply a small democratic state protecting its own while struggling to maintain it's dignity and values.

Moreover, the story highlights the dangers of the media--how a lone reporter's error can be printed and poison the minds of the readers. We don't like to think of our media as propaganda, but often our reporters and photographers sensationalize stories and, in printing them in popular newspapers, send the masses a false image of reality.

There is a story within the movie that highlights this point in an extraordinary fashion.

I visited Israel in the past year & went to visit the children in a Jerusalem hospital, both Israeli and Palestinian children alike. The Israeli doctors & nurses were incredible--treating all children with love and devotion, regardless of their race or nationality. I was struck at the Israeli woman and Palestinian woman in the same room, communicating and wishing the other woman's child well. If you want to see the true face of Israel, it was in that hospital in downtown Jerusalem.

My review was written in August 1992 after watching the film at a Times Square screening room.

Amos Kollek takes a fresh look at the ongoing Israeli/Palestinian crisis in "Double Edge". Strong thesping by Faye Dunaway should focus attention on this interesting indie production.

Dunaway portrays a reporter for the fictional New York Herald who gets a three-week assignment in Israel. Determined to impress her bosses back home with front page stories, she hits the streets of Jerusalem and Arab towns on the West Bank in search of high-profile interviews and breaking news.

Befriended by a novelist (played by director Amos Kollek) in the Israeli army reserves, he gets her an interview with his uncle, Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek (director's real-life dad).

As an American disillusioned by Israeli policy of recent years, Dunaway takes a pro-Palestinian slant on several stoies involving Iaraeli reprisals in Intifada incidents, running afoul of the government censor.

Episodic film contains interspersed interviews by the reporte with real-life figures, from the militant Rabbi Meir Kahane (murdered in New York shortly after filming here) to the familiar Palestinian spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi. This "witnesses" technique adds verisimilitude and balance to the film but detracts from the forward narrative thrust.

Kollek's low-key lead role makes for an effective foil to Dunaway's hard-driving performance. Her casting is something of a coup, combining glamor, the otherness of a waspish American star and the gung-ho willfulness she displayed in "Network".

Kollek unfortunately fumbles a key subplot in the final minutes. Dunaway finds out that she's gotten a story all wrong damning Kollek for hurting an Arab child he in fact aided as a Good Samaritan. It's too late to pull the story from her next edition. The film ends before Kollek's character discovers the trashing, and the viewer is cheated out of the expected "Absence of Malice" Paul Newman/Sally Field-like confrontation.

Instead, the chilling finale literally thrusts the gut issues of the Arab/Israeli stand-off in the viewer's face. Blase to danger, Dunaway finds herself alone on a remote road in a car being rocked back and forth by angry Arab kids. Pulling a gun out of the glove compartment, she's suddenly at ground zero, propelled by her own survival instincts.

Low-budget production benefits from on-location lensing and Kollek's decision to avoid thriller cliches and stage even the most violent scenes against idyllic, sunny day backdrops. Supporting cast, especially Arab actor Mohammand Bakri as a duplicitous militant for the Palestinian cause, is convincing.